than on any other part of the body, and they correspond exactly to the white-tipped
hairs of Nectogale. The under surface is greyish with a silvery sheen, washed with
rusty on the throat and the middle of the belly. The whiskers are blackish or
even white. The hind feet are large, hut much smaller than in Nectogale; the fore
limb is clothed to the wrist, the hind limb in the lower half of the tibia is scaly and
partially clad with short hairs. The upper surface of the feet is naked, with the
exception of that portion over the metacarpais and metatarsals, which is sparsely
covered with short, flattened, stiff, adpressed, almost white hairs. The upper surface
of the toes is scaly, and hare, except that from' one to six broad, stiff, rather long hairs
occur at the base of the claws. The toes are ciliated along each of their sides
with a line of broad stiff hairs of equal length forming a dense short fringe. The
line along the entire margin of the internal and external toes is continued along
the sides of the feet as a strongly ciliated fringe of white hairs; the claws are
yellowish, moderately long and curved. Erom the vent to the tip of the tail equals
from the vent to nearly the eye. The tail is long, and quadrangular in transverse
section. The under surface and sides are densely covered with longish, adpressed,
broadish, coarse, rigid hairs of the same character as those on the sides of the toes
and feet, but longer. The upper surface of the tail, for two-thirds, is only sparsely
covered with short, strong, blackish hairs, not obscuring the scaly rings as in the
last third, where it is clad much-as on the under surface and sides. The hairs
on the under surface of the tail are white, and on the sides and upper surface dark
brown.
The eye is small, almost hidden; the ear is all but completely concealed in the
fur. I t is a transversely oval slit 0-26 of an inch long, distinctly valvular; the lower
posterior half, fleshy, irregularly oval, bare on its internal surface, except at its margin,
which has a fine covering of very minute, short, almost microscopic, white hairs.
The portion immediately above the fleshy antitragus is thin and membranous, and
covered on its inner surface with ordinary fur, except at a small spot at its upper
extremity, which is quite bare. The antitragus, when applied to the front surface of
the ear, which is, quite bare, effectually closes the orifice; and from the circumstance
that when this happens the membranous portion is folded upon itself, the orifice is
even still more certainly shut against the entrance of water. The orifice of the
nostrils is completely hidden from sight below an almost cartilaginous valve formed
by the external angle of the bare fleshy portion of the nose, and which can evidently
be pressed against the orifice; and from the fact that the valve is anterior to the
opening of the nostril, the pressure of the water when the animal takes to a mountain
stream must tend to keep the valve closely applied. Even although the aquatic
habits of this shrew had not been observed, its economy, as I have described it,
would have indicated what its habits truly were.
Measurements of Chimarrogale himalmca, Gray.
Indies.
Tip of snout to vent . .........................................................................................3‘83
Vent to tip of tail . . . . . ......... ............................................................3’00
Snout to anterior margin of external meatus . . . . • • ■ • 1'04
Inches.
Fore foot ' '......................................................................................... ... '
Middle toe ............................................................ .33
Hind foot' -87
Middle t o e .................................................................... ' '27
Fourth t o e ................................................. ......... .9y
Measurements o f skull.
Upper margin of occipital foramen to tip of premaxillary . . . ■ # ' j-OO
Inferior „ „ •■ .■ji ■ b ^ '
0 Greatest breadth across parietal region , . . . . . , ' . •
Breadth across posterior angle of o r b i t ................................................._ .¡gp
» „ ■ anterior angle of o r b i t ................................................. -23
Greatest breadth across maxillaries between second and third molars . . . -33
Breadth across first m o l a r ................................................. . . 21
' I » '.:i second lateral incisor . , . . . . . . .^4
Length from preorbital notch to tip of p r em a x illa r ie s ........................................ *39
>, „ occipital crest „ „ -87
Posterior margin o f palate „ „ . . . . _
» » » to inferior margin of foramen magnum . . . . *44
Breadth of foramen magnum . . . . . _
Depth „ | | f g ~ . .'V,. ' ' * ' ' ' - g
Length o f alveolar surface o f upper jaw . . . . . . -48
Depth through anterior extremity of n a s a l s ...................................................- , .q
» between angles o f orbit . . . . . . .17
„ at occipital crest . . . , t _ _ _ ,gg
Length o f lower jaw from symphysis to angle (process) . . . . . -54
» » » to c o n d y l e ................................................. -56
» » » to corbnoid process . . . . .44
Length o f alveolar surface • .33
Depth at coronoid process . . . . . . . . 1. -gg
:,* at corono-condyloid notch . . . . . . . . . '17
Breadth half-way between condyle and process of angle through ascending portion of
r a m u s .......................................................................................... .
The skull is distinguished from the skull of Crocidm-a by the greater relative
breadth of the brain-cdse, by its more arched character from side to side, by the
shorter character of the temporal contraction of the skull, by the " marked
depression of the frontal area, and by the less brdadth of its maxillary region.
The skull is also devoid of the strong ridges which characterise the skulls of terrestrial
shrews generally. In its form it is closely related to Orossopus and also to
Soricwlm. Its occipital region is extensive and forwardly uptilted, and in this
and in such other particulars as breadth and arching of the brain-case it is allied
to Orossopus and perhaps more so to Soriculus. The skull is genetically identical
with the skull of the aquatic shrew of Japan, Sorex (Crossopus) platycephalus,
Temminck. I t is also undoubtedly closely allied to the skull of Nectogale, from
which it differs, however, in being more elongated, and in having considerably less
breadth across the parietal region and in having a more elongated facial portion.
Viewing the skull from above, the occipital region is all exposed, with the
exception of that portion of it on the basal aspect of the skull, and the condyles are
seen defining almost its greatest breadth. The occipital area is convex, and slopes
considerably backwards: The foramen magnum is very large and rather transversely
oval, its transverse breadth nearly equalling the antero-posterior length of